The Firewalls-and-Virus-Protection.com
   Security Alert News Reporter   

     August 2005               LANGHORNE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA   Volume 2, Issue 3   (No 15)    
Help! I think we have a Virus.

Here's your "Security Alert News Reporter" for August, 2005
This Newsletter is sent out periodically to everyone who has registered for the Security Alert  and Report
 Alert Services from one or more of the websites published and maintained by  www.RichardPresents.com.
 
If you are no longer interested in up-to-date Security Alerts or Safe Surfing Suggestions - please use the
 link at  the end of this letter to un-register.                                                                                     

Thanks for being a
 Loyal Subscriber

    The "NewsReporter" is published to keep you up-to-date on the latest information we gather for avoiding and surviving the hectic hacker attacks on your computer security and personal identity that take place constantly on the internet. Many of our comments are based on personal experiences. Protecting your safety, security, sanity, and privacy is not a simple task.
                       We're trying to make it a bit easier for you to accomplish.
 
 

                     
Some Highlights from TODAY'S TOPICS

. Latest Virus Threats
. The Panda Report
. Phishing  - Articles on today's No. 1 Risk
. Important ALERT - I Changed my Reminder
. Privacy Theft - Important Updates
. Family Security - Free Caring Report
. Family and Kid Friendly Sites
. Recommended - Predator Guard to Protect

   your Children
. Publications for your Family and Friends
    "23 Critical Alerts" / Rogue Anti-Spyware /
     Online Security while Traveling / Others

. Resources - Many FREE! (What is i-cop?)
. My Security Bible    
. Reviews of the News- really fresh
      information to keep you abreast of latest
      Security Changes

Free Download - Errornuker for Registry
  
   CLICK ON ANY TOPIC YOU'RE INTERESTED IN - OR READ THIS NEWSLETTER FROM TOP TO BOTTOM
 
  
 
Latest Virus Threats  reported thru July 31, 2005 by McAfee ,
US-CERT, Panda
™ and other advisory services. (US-CERT is the operational arm
of the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) at the Department of Homeland Security)

 
Full descriptions including virus characteristics, symptoms, aliases and removal instructions are available by clicking on the links. This virus alert is in addition to those posted in previous month's
News Reporter issues. You can review previous Virus Alerts in the Archive files.
 
      CLICK on Red Virus Name for descriptions and Removal Advice
 
 
McAfee Advisory
          W32/Sober.p@MM is a Low-Profiled virus.
          W32/Bagle.dldr is a Low-Profiled trojan.
 
Panda  most frequently detected during July, 2005
        Killfiles.AC, Killfiles.AD and Banker.AEP Med Risk Trojans
      
  Mytob.IJ  medium risk worm
    symantec Advisory
         PWSteal.Wowcraft  medium risk Trojan
        W32.Mytob.IK@mm medium risk high distribution

 

Panda Report for July 29, 2005
(Panda is an International anti-spyware provider)
"New codes, new channels The creators of malware and other threats are on the lookout for new ways to spread their creations, moving well away from traditional forms such as email, as users are now more aware of the dangers.
 
In order to spread threats like adware and spyware, for example, websites are frequently used to trick or even force users to download and install the malware.
Creators of malware and other cyber-crooks are increasingly resorting to instant messaging systems for spreading all types of threats (malware, phishing, etc.). Worms that use this particular means of propagation are also on the increase".

                                **************

In following the threat activities reported by the major Security companies, I've observed
the change in virus activity and severity from fast-acting, broad based global threats to more targeted worm attacks where the focus is on avoiding detection and stealing money and identities. Phishing activities are rampant!

The next two reports are examples of what's happening. I encourage you to become familiar with some of these current risks.  ...Richard
 


                                                       
 To Top

Recent Report from US-CERT
(
National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) at the Department of Homeland Security)
                  Users at Continued Risk from Phishing Attempts

US-CERT continues to receive reports of phishing attempts. Because of recent media reports regarding attacks against financial institutions, users may see an increase in targeted phishing emails.  Phishing emails may appear as requests from a financial institution asking the user to click on a link that takes them to a fraudulent site that looks like the legitimate one.  The user is then asked to provide personal information that can further expose them to future compromises.
 
US-CERT warns users to expect media reports about financial institution breaches to be leveraged in future phishing attempts.  Users are encouraged to take the following measures to protect themselves from this type of phishing attack:
        Don’t follow unsolicited web links received in email messages
       ●  Contact your financial institution immediately if you believe your account
           has been compromised, you are unsure whether an email you received
           purporting to come from them is legitimate.
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


 
... and from my review of a recent article in Internet Week about the inner workings of Internet scammers.

 
Christopher Abad, a research scientist with Cloudmark*, said "Phishing economies are self-organized merchants and consumers governed only by the laws of supply and demand,"
 
The Internet Week article reported that Mr. Abad analyzed hundreds of thousands of messages collected from 13 key phishing-related chat rooms. He also reviewed several thousand compromised computers used to run bots as well as host the bogus Web sites that phishers use to trick users into divulging confidential data.
 
Other major points that were reported:
 
   ● "Phishers rely on chat rooms and automated bot programs".
 
   ● Mr. Abad  didn't find evidence to support the theory of some analysts that
   organized gangs, perhaps composed of organized crime elements have
   complete control over all aspects of a phishing campaign.
 
   ● "Phishers are very loosely-affiliated people,"
 
   ● Those who collect the information and the ones who end up cashing in on it
   are two entirely separate groups.
 
   ● Those who make the money from phishing and other identity theft, buy
   information in bulk from the Phishers.
 
  
   ● Prices range from 50 cents per record, to as much as $100,
 
   ● The stolen data is used to encode magnetic cards to pull money out of bank
   or credit card accounts at ATMs.
 
   ● Phishers get a portion of the stolen money (like a commission).
 
   ● Cashers specialize in certain banks and account number groups at a bank
   they've managed to crack ATM codes for.
 
   ● Many banks have strengthened their security efforts, making it more difficult
   to penetrate their data files, so the Phishers are returning to easier targets like
   eBay and PayPal, other services and sites that were the targets in the past.
 
   ● Money transfer services are also on the Phisher's target lists
 
Because phishing seems to be everywhere --  chat rooms, mass mailing of
e-mail, compromised host machines -- it's impossible to stamp out, advised
Mr. Abad. The only solution, he thinks, is for everyone to have a solid anti-spam defense in place.
 
Nor does Mr. Abed see anti-spam technology getting much better. He feels the problem is deployment (
distribution of forces in preparation for battle). More people need to be using it. Those who aren't using effective anti-spam controls are the targets who are being exploited.
 
*(
Cloudmark is a  leading anti-spam and anti-phishing provider for organizations ranging from small businesses to Global 2000), 

                                  
                                                          
 To Top
                                 

IMPORTANT ALERT I'm changing my usual reminder about the  Free virus checking and removal STINGER tool at the Firewalls and Virus Protection site.

STINGER
,
 (compliments of McAfee's Anti-virus and Vulnerability Emergency Response Team -
AVERT) has not been updated since May 2, 2005. It really shouldn't be relied upon to find and remove the latest viruses that may have ended up in your computer since then.
 

When up to date, it's a great little program that fits neatly on a floppy disc - a perfect way to clean up your computer if a worm or other 'rogueware' has disabled your ability to get back on the Internet to update your security ware.
 
  If, or when an updated version becomes available,
 I'll post a notice here, on the Firewalls and Virus
 Protection website and in the Security Alert Blog. 

 
 

                                                      To Top     

                             
               

  Privacy Theft  - Watch out for the latest spyware
     

    
IMPORTANT -  UPDATED RECOMMENDATIONS ! 
 

How to detect and get rid of malware and  Zombie (hijacking) programs
 

Usually, it's very difficult to repair the damage they cause, however, there are some really fine and very effective Programs available to Home and Small Business computer users to improve online security and minimize adware, Trojan horse/Zombie and general malware threats. You'll need three.
 
 The new recommendations:  Microsoft AntiSpyware* with a detection score of 63% and Webroot Spy Sweeper (
CLICK for Free trial) - next best with 48%.         
 The third recommended program, SpywareBlaster (Download) is a little bit different. It doesn't scan for and clean SpyWare, it prevents it from ever being installed
 
* Microsoft AntiSpyware  is currently available as a FREE Download, but you can't use it with Windows 95 or 98. I use it on my windows 2000 and Windows XP PC's, have it set for automatic updates and daily scans. Like Spyware Blaster, it's designed to  monitor in Real Time.
                                    ***************

Because I can't use Microsoft AntiSpyware on my Windows 98SE computer, my arsenal includes AdAware, AVG, ErrorNuker, CWS Shredder, HijackThis,
X-Cleaner and Webroot Spy Sweeper. Updates are either performed automatically or every two or three days. They are all used each time I boot up. WebRoot SpySweeper is set to run as part of the shutdown routine. McAfee Firewall runs on the Win98 machine.

If you've ever had to completely wipe your harddrive to get rid of a tenacious  CoolWebSearch Trojan or other insidious worm, you'll understand where I'm coming from, and why I put so much emphasis on keeping your operating systems and security ware up to date.


Check out the Free Resources topic for more information and links to HijackThis and CWSshredder
                                             
 
                                                                            
  To Top 
 


Family Security and Caring
 
Family Caring- At some time in our lives, family members and friends may need caring support and special understanding. The FREE Care Giving/Care Receiving manual is still available from the Senior2Senior.org website. Don't miss getting this valuable document, even if you aren't a Senior or aren't now involved in providing care for a loved one. All of my friends that I've shared it with agree that it's a great Resource and Guide.
 
You'll want to share it, too. The download is Free (and could be worth its weight in gold to you someday).                                     ......... Richard

We post Kid Safe Sites, because like you, we care about the safety and security of our children and grandchildren...
...and to help parents, grandparents and guardians guide today's young internet surfers to safe sites. There are many other website creators who feel the same concerns and responsibility. These are just a few of their sites that we have personally reviewed and tested as safe for our Grandchildren. Check them out and share them with the young people you care about.
  Please note the 'AMBER ALERT" scrolling at the bottom of this table
  If you would like to help support the Code Amber project, please click here.

Reviews of Family Safe Sites

CRAYOLA
 

The Crayola website goes beyond being just for Kids with its sections for Parents and Educators, too.

PBS Kids is a respected and trusted site. We would not hesitate to send our children and grandchildren there for entertainment and education, either.

Our Firewalls-and-virus-protection.com website is Certified 'Family Safe' by the Institute of Family Safe Businesses.

 
Ask Jeeves for Kids

Enter your question here:
Ask Jeeves is a trademark of Ask Jeeves, Inc., Copyright 1996-2000 Ask Jeeves, Inc. Ask Jeeves for Kids has great Study Tools, Fun and Games and News Resources,
Kid Safe Site from
Yahooligans! A really cool Index to the Web for net Surfers ages 8 - 14.

Check out the Kid Friendly pages HERE and the Parent Friendly Links
 HERE
Your Site Support Supporting your Play Time with Kids
for Kid approved activities that grownups love Click to visit Site
  We receive no compensation for displaying these links and you will be under No Obligation when you visit them. They are here because we care about the safety of everyone who uses the internet, especially our Kids.



Predator Guard protects our children



Help for Parents and Grandparents. Add to your computer

Predator Guard
provides real-time protection for children in chat rooms, instant messaging, and e-mail exchanges.
 
The Home Edition Features:
  • Real-time protection in Instant Messaging, Chat Rooms, E-mail and Attachments
  • E-mail notification to parents
  • Reviews both outgoing and incoming data
  • User defined library to prevent distribution of personal information
  • Detects, captures, logs and reports violations
  • Works as a stand-alone application or with existing site blocking programs (AOL Parental Controls, Cyber Patrol,
    Net Nanny, and more.)
 Predator Guard  provides real-time protection for children in chat rooms, instant messaging, e-mail and attachments from online predators and pedophiles. In addition, Predator Guard can prevent all outgoing personal information, such as a child's home address, phone number and school information, or other information that is essential for a predator to make contact with a child. Purchase this Inexpensive Protection Now
                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 As you may have noticed, this issue of the News Reporter has a lot of  information. If you Bookmark it, you can return to re-read it at your convenience. I hope you do.                                             Richard

                                                            To Top

 

Publications - Use these Reports to help your family and friends:
 

   
. For those of you who have visited our Firewalls website and Security Alert Blog, you know that the information there is directed toward keeping you safe from hacker and cracker attacks. Additions to our bookshelf are selected with the same purpose - and we encourage you to share our reports freely.
       
Because it isn't always convenient to share your computer with family and friends, we have created small downloadable reports that can easily be printed and distributed to the people you'd like to help avoid 'virus grief'.

Bookshelf and Special Report Alerts

23 Critical Alerts free to subscribers


"23 CRITICAL ALERTS

You Should Consider when Maintaining
Your Computer Security and Protecting
 Your Personal Safety"

FREE Downloadable eReport for ALL Subscribers
 to the
Security Alert News Reporter
  
Already a Subscriber?
CLICK HERE to request your Free copy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Read how to Protect young children and family from chat room predators

Protect Yourself and Family from Dangerous Chat Rooms and Instant Messages. If you use them, you and yours are the Hacker's newest targets.
 
Hackers are already taking advantage of problems with today's IM systems. People not familiar with these new threats could easily open a new, harmless looking IM message that pops up on their screen. With one well intentioned click of their mouse on a Hacker’s phony message, could get infected. It's no longer just the teen age Chat Room users that are in danger. Whole families are threatened
 
In case you missed this FREE report on the Firewalls-and-Virus-Protection website, you can read it here.  Please print the report and share it with your family, friends and associates. Help them avoid the hidden dangers and threats often buried in IM messages and of predators lurking in Chat Rooms.
                          
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Imorive you Online Security when traveling

If you take your laptop computer with you on your travels, this interview with the Author of "Travel Cheap-Travel Well" contains tips and advice to help maintain your
 Online Security while Traveling in the United States and Abroad.

The author, Victor K Pryles, discusses computer security and offers first hand advice on maintaining personal safety while on the road, high seas and in the air.

Click to read it here or Down Load it from this link and share this FREE 10 page report with the travelers you care about. (It's in eBook format; download in less than a minute and zip to open) DOWNLOAD HERE
                                            
   

This is the book that prompted my interview with Victor Pryles. He included so many money saving Tips and Useful Resources that I sought his first hand advice on keeping my laptop free of bugs and stuff when traveling. There's so much more in his book, though, it would be impossible to describe it all here... but it's summarized on his web page where he describes everything he included, like --
 
all the travel hot spots, the unknown secrets, the special deals and comprehensive travel savvy, and a great deal more
; knowledge that would take years to learn on your own. He put it all in one place --- in the "Travel Cheap - Travel Well!"- Confessions of A Traveling Pauper eBook.
 
I feel confident you'll find Victor's web page to be a  fascinating review in itself.
Click here - it won't cost you anything to look.

                                               ... Richard
 
            
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
      Can you afford the cost of getting the viruses out of your cmputer?                       
   
    Don't get trapped by Rogue Anti-Spyware software
   
Trying a new anti-spyware program? Avoid being duped
    or robbed by false positives.
   
 
    "Rogue/Suspect" means that these products are of unknown,
     questionable, or dubious value if used for anti-spyware
     protection.

     In case you missed this FREE report on the Firewalls-and- Virus-Protection website, you can read it here.  Please print the report and share it with your family, friends and associates. Help them avoid the hidden dangers and threats often buried in software programs that are supposed to clean up, not infect your computer.
                                            
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Is your Firewalls and Virus protection Safe Enough?

 
 Is Your Firewalls and Virus Protection Safe Enough?

This FREE report will help you identify viruses, prepare for attacks and infections and guide you in their removal. It's a
 9 page, easy reading guide that covers the threats we all face in our daily use of the internet. It's a basic education in understanding and Avoiding Virus Grief

Down load it from this link (it's in PDF format):                         
http://www.RichardPresents.com/safefirewall.zip

The download includes a ReadMe page with instructions for unzipping and using your Acrobat Reader, and even a link to the Adobe website where you can get your own free Acrobat Reader if you don't already have one
                                            
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Is a keystroke logger spying on you?
  Is a Keystroke Logger Being Used To Spy On You?
Many of the tools and tricks in use today to spy on your internet activities are exposed in this 7 page report. This look into spyware will alert you to the ease in which your identity could be compromised, or stolen.

Open the FREE report in a new webpage by clicking
Are Keystroke Loggers Spying On You?
(No downloading necessary, and you can print it right from
your browser window.)
                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Can you afford the cost of getting the viruses out of your cmputer?

        
  How Much Money would it cost you to regain the use of your computer after a serious virus infection?
It cost one of our friends a whole lot of money, much aggravation and lost time, lost records, and a major inconvenience to recover from the havoc caused by the worms and viruses that had infiltrated their computer over a period of many months.

In case you missed this FREE report on the Firewalls-and-Virus-Protection website, you can read it here. Our friends have recovered full use of their computer and now encourage everyone to learn from their experiences. Please print the report and share it with your family, friends and associates.
    
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
 

 There are a lot more Articles and Reports at the Firewalls and Virus Protection website. Look them over for the helpful 'keeping safe' info they contain.
              

                                         To Top
           

 Resources - many Free.  It's easy to install the latest Firewall, anti-virus(*), spam blocking, and spyware removal software on your computers. Download all of these programs, and more, mostly for FREE, from our Firewalls-and-Virus-Protection website pages.
 
   
Check them out. If you need to block Spam, find the links on the 'Spam and Spyware' page. Same thing for Cookie Crumbling tools, Spyware protection, etc. Most of them have a purchasable Upgrade option, and by trying the free versions, you can upgrade the ones that work best for you. 
 
    (*) Here's the link to Grisoft's AVG  Free anti virus software, in case you
         missed it in  recent issues of the
News Reporter)

 
  Browser Hijacking hasn't gone away. One of the outstanding sources for information about browser hijackers and tools to remove these predators is still available on the SpywareInfo.com website.
 
      It's loaded with powerful information and helpful advice that zeros in on the hijacking problem. If you are experiencing any similar problems, be sure to follow the link to their forum. There are literally thousands of postings from which you will learn and possibly find the advice that will help you resolve your own issues.
 
     You can download HijackThis from the Software link on the SpywareInfo website. Be sure to read and follow their instructions to the letter if you want good results.

               
We learned about this program from the extraordinary website and forums built and maintained by James Healan, webmaster of SpywareInfo.com.
 
DOWNLOAD latest cws shredder from Softpedia. It'll find and remove those nasty Cool Web Search trojan horses.
 
                                         
To Top


 Here's a powerful, inexpensive, and helpful resource
 

Hackers, virus and spyware writers and other unethical persons
are becoming more and more sophisticated every day. Their attacks and the undesirable and often dangerous stuff they sneak into our computers slow them down, and threaten our personal lives with increasing severity.
 
Fact: 99% of the time it is some form of malware (virus, trojan, spyware, etc.) that is the cause of diminished performance (slowing down) in a PC over a period of time. But there are much more serious implications than just reduced performance, because malware can be designed to do incredibly invasive and destructive things.
  
Ever since I found the eBook, "The Hacker's Nightmare"
that tells how to really Keep Hackers, Worms and Germs out of my PCs, it has received my highest recommendation to family and friends.
It's my Computer Security Bible.
 
  
This eBook is by the 20 plus year veteran of internet security consulting ...Mr Bill Hely. The ebook is loaded with valuable information and  plain common sense. We could fill this and future issues of our News Reporter for the next few months just talking about it.
    
    Bill has designed a webpage that describes many of the security tricks and tools that will help keep that nasty stuff out of your computer. Review The Hacker's Nightmare Story HERE. Some sample (Free) chapters are available to early visitors.

 
Some testimonials Bill received recently--
 
"My heartfelt thanks to you for finally writing a book about Internet security in
a language that us 'non-techies' can understand...

"Reading The Hacker's Nightmare actually made me physically cringe as
 I realized just how easily [intruders] could access my system despite the
 fact I have installed expensive software to prevent just that."
                                                                          - Eric Hart - Proprietor
                                                                     - Hints-Tips-Newstuff.com
                                                                 - Christchurch, New Zealand
               
-------------------------------------------- 
"If anybody is interested at all in protecting their system [The Hacker's Nightmare] is certainly a purchase they should consider making."
                                                                                    - Bob Parsons
                                                                         - Founder & President

                                                                           - Go Daddy Domains
                                                                    - Scottsdale Arizona USA

Nearly everyone who has been surfing the web for any length of time, even as far back as the mid 1990's, knows the name "Bob Parsons" (remember Parsons Technology?) You can be absolutely certain that he wouldn't recommend this ebook unless it was an outstanding value.
 
Visit now and Learn the Truths About Computer & Internet Security.
                                                                            ... Richard



  My Favorite Resource

                  i-Cop is a resource I'm proud to be a part of.
 
You have probably noticed the various references to it throughout this newsletter, the Firewalls and Virus Protection website and my Blog.

 
It's the International Council of Online Professionals, i-Cop for short. I believe anyone actively using the internet to provide information, services or sell products would benefit by subscribing to i-Cop's publication - The Internet Marketing Trade Journal. It truly sets the standard for Honesty and Integrity Online. I'm proud to be a member.
 
This FREE ezine is vitally important to online business owners and anyone even considering making money online! We keep folks
informed about all online issues and programs to participate
in, or avoid. Subscribe to
The Internet Marketing Trade Journal here:: http://www.i-Cop.org/trade-journal.htm                  ...Richard

                                     To Top


 

Reviews of the News (some encouraging news about controlling SPAM,  SCAMS, pornography, and protecting Personal Consumer  Information)
 

Spam suppression efforts and results

Fraudulent “Debt Negotiators” Settle FTC SCAM Charges - consumers who responded to the defendants’ radio and Internet ads were told that Briggs & Baker and DRS would negotiate with consumers’ creditors and settle their debts for a fraction of the amount owed.            

In a recent release I read, the Federal Trade Commission reported on a group of defendants who promised they would “drastically” reduce consumers’ debts by negotiating with their creditors... negotiations that didn't actually take place.
The consumers were advised they should stop making further payments
 

In February 2004, the FTC filed charges against Todd A. Baker; another individual, who settled with the Commission in February 2004; and two companies they owned or controlled, Innovative Systems Technology, Inc., which did business as Briggs & Baker; and Debt Resolution Specialists, Inc. (DRS).
 
The FTC charges : 1) Since 1999, the defendants falsely claimed that they could
                              substantially reduce consumers’ debts,
 
                          2) They told consumers who responded to the defendants’
                              radio and Internet ads that Briggs & Baker and DRS would
                              negotiate with consumers’ creditors and settle their debts
                              for a fraction of the amount owed.
 
                          3) that after signing up for these programs, Briggs & Baker
                              and DRS told consumers to end all contact with their
                              creditors and stop making payments on those accounts.
 
The FTC’s complaint charged that the defendants did not negotiate with consumers’ creditors to reduce or eliminate consumers’ debts as advertised, and that consumers who stopped communicating with their creditors found themselves deeper in debt, sometimes forced to pay additional charges and incur further damage to their credit ratings.

The defendants have settled FTC charges that their deceptive claims violated federal law and harmed consumers who engaged their services and stopped contacting creditors. They are now barred from advertising or participating in any debt negotiation business in the future.

(end of SCAM.......   Richard))

                                                         
     The Federal Trade Commission receives July's 'Good Guys' check mark.

    'Good Guy Check Marks' to date )
√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √(See Archives)
     
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
             
                                                        
To Top
 


"User Education" is the focus of our Firewalls and Virus Protection website and the "Security Alert News Reporter".  
 
Are your IM and Chat Room Buddies alert to the growing Instant Messaging and Phishing threats?  In case you missed this FREE report on the Firewalls-and-Virus-Protection website, you can read it here.  Please print the report and share it with your family, friends and associates.
        

  As a P.S. to the above comment, encourage your friends to check out our  "Security Alert Blog". The most recent Blog entries include these helpful and timely posts:
 
              
  Travel SCAMS? Watch out for trips offered at too low a price
                       
If you're planning a vacation involving travel on commercial transportation or with
                        vacation promoters, beware, the scam artists crawl out of their holes during
                        summer and holiday vacation seasons.

 
                
Terrorist Attack in London brings new threats of Trojan horse
                       attachments in eMail messages.
Within one day of the first tragic bombings
                       in London, a Trojan horse that poses as news footage appeared as an email
                       attachment with a subject line referring to the attacks.

                  
●  Add our information blog to your list of Must Read spyware
                       avoidance resources.
The more useful information you have about
                       the scourge of malicious spyware, the better chance you'll have of avoiding the
                       grief it can bring.

  There are dozens more posts available in the Blog Archives. Read our Blog Posts HERE. I urge you to Comment, Challenge and add your own opinions to ours.

                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     
                  
  
                                            
To Top                                 
 
 
 

Are you campaigning with us?
   
(Have you participated in the Computer Virus Awareness Campaign?)

It appears as if some positive progress is being made in alerting your friends and family of spyware dangers. Many of the Spyware monitoring organizations and individuals have noted the changes in Hacker and Spammer tactics. Because so many internet users have built up their defenses against malicious spyware, these cyber criminals have had to develop increasingly more devious and sophisticated attack schemes, challenging the anti-spyware software developers. We're caught in the middle of this battle. We cannot drop our guard now.
 
  Please help us help your family, friends, and associates enjoy a safer and less frustrating internet experience. We encourage you to share this information with them or suggest they subscribe to this newsletter.
 
 

     All of us, too, need to

act, by educating ourselves and by making sure we obtain the necessary programs to protect our computers.
 
Those programs include a firewall; installing and updating anti-virus software; using anti-spyware software that can identify and delete programs that have migrated to our computers; using spam filters to protect e-mail; and downloading patches that update software and web browsers.
_____________
It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
_____________


Keep in mind that
these programs are only as good as their latest updates!
I hope your machines aren't infected with any viruses that send out spam.
 
How can you be sure? Do some 'house-cleaning' on your system. Scan for spyware and viruses and while you're at it, install a diagnostic program so that you can discover any viral ills on your PC.
 
Have you checked the health of your computer's Registry? I have, with
errornuker.  It's a powerful diagnostic utility that scans the Windows Registry to identify errors and provide ways to optimize it's performance.
 
Your Registry could need a clean up, too, if you have these Registry Problem Symptoms
  • PC keeps crashing at critical times
  • PC needs frequent rebooting
  • unable to remove a program using add/remove dialog
  • 'unable to load ***.DLL' errors
  • 'cannot find ***.exe' errors
  • PC runs noticeably slower than when you first bought it
     

    Download errornuker now, absolutely FREE
     
    After running errornuker the first time, and seeing how many registry listings needed to be fixed on my computer, and how effectively they were fixed, it is now a part of my booting routine every time I restart.                                                    ... Richard

                                               To Top  
 
 

 NewsReporter  Reader's Questions  ??????????
 
       Send in your questions. There is no such thing as a stupid question. Some people are bashful about asking, but there are always many others who share the same question, and will benefit from the answers to yours.
 

  With your permission, we'll publish your questions and answers in future issues of the "NewsReporter".
                           
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 
 
  Sharing ?
If you have the opportunity to help family members, associates, or friends by sharing any of the information in this "News Reporter", please suggest that they subscribe for their own personal copy.

  They can subscribe here and we'll never share their information with third parties.

  If they are hesitant or uncertain about the benefits of visiting with us,
suggest that they review the help that's readily available at this one page summary of the Online Security Consideration and Protective Tactics that are designed to keep them safe on the Internet. They Can Check out these Considerations and Tactics HERE.


 
And finally for this issue,
we hope you can take our one minute mini- survey (We'll give you a nifty and entertaining Free eBook on Coping With Your Stresses for your time) and visit our Blog Pages, read our postings and contact us with your comments and opinions.

Everything you have to offer will help us do a better job of helping you.
 Thank you. ...Richard

                            
Read our Privacy Policy                   

                                            To Top

As promised in our first issue, we aren't going to stuff your mail box with un-ending mailings every day, week, or whenever. When there's important news about the topics we've noted, we'll let you know, usually monthly. 
To avoid unwanted and unnecessary filtering of our messages, we will send a very brief text email to you. It will have a link to this News Reporter and an un-subscribe link. The email subject line will identify the contents as "Latest Security Alert News Reporter - Issue ##" and the email "FROM" address will be "richard@richardpresents.com"


Richard Rossbauer, webmaster and newsletter publisher

 

      Thank you again, for your interest and trust.
      We'll do our best to honor and preserve it
                                    
    Richard Rossbauer     



 

                                                      
Please Take part in our Computer Virus Awareness Campaign by Sharing this with a friend 

                          CLICK HERE to be removed from this mailing list, or
                                 Click to send Un-subscribe email request

Welcome New
Subscribers

  TODAY'S TOPICS
CLICK on a TITLE to
JUMP to that TOPIC
  or Read this Newsletter
    from Top to Bottom --- 
          Your Choice!
Latest Virus threats
Privacy theft
Family security
Publications
Free resources  
Reviews
User Education Campaign
Reader's Questions

  Archives
Volume 1, Issue 01
Volume 1, Issue 02
Volume 1, Issue 03
Volume 1, Issue 04
Volume 1, Issue 05
Volume 1, Issue 06
Volume 1, Issue 07
Volume 1,Issue_08
Volume 1,Issue_09
Volume 1,Issue_10
Volume 1,Issue 11
Volume 1.Issue_12

Volume 2, Issue_01
Volume 2, Issue_02
 

    ►= RED ALERT
    
= HELPFUL TIP


CLICK ICON to Verify our Member standing
 

We are proud participants in the
"Rid the Planet of Viruses" campaign.


Certified family safe by IFSOB.ORG
CERTIFIED SAFE
for All Family Members



Get the latest News
Take a look at our Security Alert Blog            HERE.

A Blog (web log) is a quick and easy way to share timely information (nearly daily updated news, trends, developments), answer questions, express opinions and exchange views.
 

What's your
 No. 1 Use of the Internet?

Please take this one minute Mini-Survey. Tell us how we can best serve your primary interests
 while avoiding
Hacker attacks and spyware intrusions.

We'll give you a nifty and entertaining Free eBook on Coping With Your Stresses

as a Thank for your time

Are you using
Internet Explorer?
If you are experiencing unexplainable problems which you can't seem to fix, maybe you could try what I did.

Get Firefox!
It helped a lot!
 

 
Right Click and SAVE link. Paste it into your RSS Reader to
  Subscribe to our Security Alert RSS feed. It keeps you totally informed of the latest web page updates, Newsletter Editions and Blog posts as soon as they're made!

What's an RSS Feed?
 

Have you heard about the i-Cop Coupon Book?
Check into it HERE
 
 
 
 Some Subscriber
     Comments
   "It's a TERRIFIC
        newsletter" 

jl scott, ph.d., Director  iCop - International Council of Online Professionals
www.i-cop.org/

 
"Happy One Year Birthday! I read your newest information--
very nicely written.
You've informed many people over the last year-- a generous under- taking since I doubt there is much financial profit involved. Thanks!" 
Patrick
patrickcarrimaging

 
"Wow, You've really outdone yourself with this newsletter! It looks and reads like brilliant gold! So much valuable info! I use it once a day over a full week's time to carefully digest and implement each of your 'helps', downloads and updates. Thank you for your incredible dedication to online security."
Victor K Pryles
www.AuthorsDen.com

 
 

Copyright © 2004-2005 RichardPresents.com All rights reserved  | Contact | Privacy Policy |